As for me? Aloha, I am in Hawaii! And will be back on Tuesday. In between now and then, I'll try to stoke the flames of your jealousy with some pictures of the beach, surfers, Mai Tai's and chocolate-covered macadamia nuts. Yes?

Now take it away, B!:

In case ya ain’t heard, Slow Food Austin is kind of badass. It’s one of those organizations that helps make Austin a super-awesome place to live (and eat). If you want the official description of SFA, observe, my friends:

“Slow Food Austin supports activities and education to preserve biodiversity in the food supply, spread the education of taste and connect producers of excellent foods with the co-producers (consumers) through events and initiatives.”

I mean, boom. I love them.

One thing they do that I’m dying to check out is a Happy Hour event once a month at cool locations around Austin. This month they had it out at Boggy Creek Farm with Bill Norris from FINO and David Allan, the Tipsy Texan, with appetizers served by Ecstatic Cuisine. (Uhh, you had me at FINO.) Also, appetizers. In May, the Happy Hour was held at Green Gate Farms (see gah-orgeous pic below).

Does this not look like a dream? My big fat foodie dream, specifically...

Anyway, all rambling preamble aside, I wanted to tell you that the fine folks at Slow Food Austin are hosting a Texas Artisan Showcase this Saturday, June 26, from 4-8pm at Space 12 (3121 East 12th Street).
It’s gonna be stellar, with samples of beers, cheeses, breads, meats (or charcuterie if you’re French, and/or know how to pronounce that), coffee, tea, and more! All from “good, clean, and fair” Texas producers and sellers, as if you needed another reason to go. Plus, there will be live music, a silent auction, demos, and a live auction where I hear they’ll be auctioning off cuts from a whole hog. Which sounds...bizarre? Maybe a little too REAL? At any rate, my interest is piqued.

You can buy tickets (which range from $35-$60, depending on whether you’re a Slow Food member and how much you want to sample) through Brown Paper Tickets.

Green Gate Farms

And before I go, to whet your appetite further, here’s a list of the confirmed Artisans/Producers who will be offering their goods at the Showcase: